Sub 30 nm silver nanowire synthesized using KBr as co-nucleant through one-pot polyol method for optoelectronic applications

Ultrathin, high aspect ratio silver nanowires synthesized in solution has attracted significant attention for fabricating optoelectronic devices with good properties and relatively low cost, and has been the most promising material to replace ITO. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to synthesis ultrathin nanowires through facile one-pot polyol method using KBr as a co-nucleant to NaCl. The effect of three common nucleants NaCl, FeCl₃ and KBr on nucleation rate and product size were well studied. KBr is found to be beneficial for decreasing product size but unable to generate nanowires effectively alone. By adjusting the exact concentration of KBr, silver nanowires with an average length of 21 μm and average diameter of 26 nm could be synthesized conveniently. Conductive film prepared using these nanowires had transmittance over 90% and sheet resistance about 10 Ω/□, which is better than the average level of common ITO-glass and highly potential to be applied in optoelectronic applications.